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Fort McMurray forests are on the rebound

This September, 2016 photo looking over the northern end of Fort McMurray shows the mixed severity of the fire and the live trees next to the community. (Xinli Cai, University of Alberta )

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For many people the memory of the wildfires that devastated Fort McMurray in Alberta last May is still pretty fresh.

While many residents of Fort Mac face a long road to recovery, there are signs that the scorched boreal forest around it is well on its way to rebounding. Dr. Dan Thompson,a forest fire scientist withNatural Resources Canada, says some trees are uniquely adapted to handle fire, while others actually thrive after a blaze. Dr. Thompson is a Forest Fire Research Scientist with Natural Resources Canada. He says that in as few as twelve years the forest could look normal to the casual observer.